Drywall runner pallet assembly

ABSTRACT

A pallet assembly includes a pallet and a base. The pallet includes columns that are nestable within the base. The columns are integrally formed with the pallet. The base includes an upper platform and a lower platform with a plurality of supports disposed between the upper platform and the lower platform. The upper platform includes cut-outs for receiving the columns of the pallet. The pallet is assembled to the base. Sheets of drywall are stacked on the pallet assembly for cooling and storage. The drywall stack is subsequently shipped on the pallet, while the base remains at the manufacturer for re-use and each pallet is nestable within another pallet to create a condensed stack of pallets for economical shipment back to the manufacturer also for re-use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a pallet assembly for storing andtransporting goods and, more particularly to a nestable pallet and baseassembly used for cooling, storing and transporting drywall.

Pallets are often used to store and transport sheets of drywall. Knownpallets are typically constructed of wood. Individual sheets of drywall,which are ready for shipment, are typically stiff and hard, however,when the drywall is freshly made, the individual sheets are hot andflexible. As the individual sheets of drywall are stacked on the palletwhile they are still hot and flexible, the pallet provides support forthe individual sheets as they cool and harden.

The stacks of individual sheets of drywall are subsequently stored andshipped on the pallets. The wood pallets are heavy, which increasesshipping costs. Once the drywall is shipped on the pallets, the palletstypically are not returned, but are destroyed and disposed of

Accordingly, there is a need for pallet that provides structure duringthe cooling, storing and transportation process and which is reusable,recyclable and economical to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a pallet assembly including a pallet anda base. The pallet, which is made from plastic, includes a deck andcolumns that are nestable within the base. The columns are integrallyformed with the deck. The base, which is made from wood, includes anupper platform and a lower platform with a plurality of supportsdisposed between the upper platform and the lower platform. The upperplatform includes cut-outs for receiving the columns of the pallet. Thepallet is assembled to the base. Sheets of drywall are stacked on thepallet assembly for cooling and storage. The drywall stack issubsequently shipped on the pallet, while the base remains at themanufacturer for re-use.

Further, each pallet is nestable within another pallet, creating acondensed stack of pallets for economical shipment back to themanufacturer also for re-use.

These and other features of the present invention can be best understoodfrom the following specification and drawings, the following of which isa brief description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a pallet assembly including a pallet and abase according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1A is an assembled view of the pallet assembly including the palletand the base according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the pallet of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a bottom view of the pallet of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2B is a side view of the pallet of FIG. 2 in the direction of A;

FIG. 2C is a section view through the pallet of FIG. 1 with a similarpallet nested therein;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the base of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the assembled pallet assembly and stack ofdrywall of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the pallet assembly and stack of drywallof FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a top view of the pallet assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An exploded view of a pallet assembly 10 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The pallet assembly 10includes a pallet 12 and a base 14 for supporting a stack of sheets ofdrywall 24. The pallet 12 is molded from a plastic material and includescolumns 16, which are integrally formed with a deck 26. The base 14 maybe constructed from wood and includes an upper platform 18A, B, C and alower platform 20A, B, C. A plurality of supports 22 extend between theupper platform 18A, B, C and the lower platform 20A, B, C.

As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the pallet 12 is assembled to the base 14 toform the pallet assembly 10. The deck 26 of the pallet 12 rests on theupper platform 18 of the base 14. The deck 26 of the pallet 12 has athickness that protrudes slightly above the top surface 60 of the upperplatform 18; however, the deck 26 is sufficiently thin as to not createa significant impression on the hot drywall sheets (FIG. 1) after theyare loaded onto the pallet assembly 10. Alternatively, the base 14 mayinclude recesses (not shown) in the top surface 60 of the upper platform18 that match the deck 26, such that the deck 26 rests within therecess. In this configuration, a top surface 62 of the pallet 12 wouldbe substantially flush with the top surface 60 of the upper platform 18of the base 14.

Further, it should be noted that the top surface 62 of the pallet 12 andthe top surface 60 of the upper platform 18 of the base 14 arecontinuous surfaces, i.e. there are no holes through which air can flow.As illustrated in the example embodiment, there are no air holes ineither the top surface 62 of the pallet 12, the top surface 60 of theupper platform 18 of the base 15, or the columns 16, which areintegrally formed in the top surface 62 of the pallet 12. The absence ofair holes, limits the amount of airflow beneath the stack of sheets ofdrywall 24 when stacked on the pallet assembly 10. This prevents theindividual sheets of drywall from curing at different rates, which canbe detrimental to the aesthetic appearance of the individual sheets ofdrywall. For example, areas that are exposed to air cure faster thanareas that are not exposed to air, creating a visible flaw, such as animprint, on a surface of the individual sheet of drywall. While thisvisible flaw does not affect the integrity of the individual sheet ofdrywall, it may generate an impression to a consumer that the individualsheet of drywall is damaged.

A detailed view of the pallet 12 is shown as FIG. 2. The pallet 12includes a deck 26. The plurality of columns 16 are formed with thepallet 12 and extend below the deck 26. The deck 26 includes a firstportion 26A and a second portion 26B and an opening 28 disposed betweenthe first portion 26A and the second portion 26B.

FIG. 2A is a bottom view of the pallet 12. The pallet 12 includes thedeck 26 and the plurality of integrally formed columns 16. The deck 26includes the first portion 26A and the second portion 26B. The pallet 12could be thermoformed or injection molded or made by any other suitableprocess. The plurality of columns 16 are located at spaced-apartpositions about the periphery as illustrated, although otherarrangements could be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, each of the columns 16 includes a first widthW₁ near a top edge 32, which is proximate the deck 26, and a secondwidth W₂ near a distal edge 34, which is spaced away from the deck 26.The first width W₁ is wider than the second width W₂ and tapers down tothe second width W₂ such that pallets 12 (in particular the columns 16)are nestable within one another for economical shipping and storage whenempty. This is illustrated in FIG. 2C, where a similar pallet 12′ isstacked on and nested with the pallet 12. The columns 16′ of the upperpallet 12′ are received almost completely within the columns 16 of thelower pallet 12. This reduces the space required for storing andshipping empty pallets 12, 12′. Many similar pallets 12, 12′ could bestacked together as shown.

A detailed view of the base 14 according to the present invention isshown in FIG. 3. The base 14 includes an upper platform 18 and a lowerplatform 20. A plurality of supports 22 extend between the upperplatform 18 and the lower platform 20. The upper platform 18 of the base14 includes a first end section 18A, a middle section 18B, and a secondend section 18C. The first end section 18A and second end section 18Cinclude cut-outs 40 for receiving columns 16 of the pallet 12 (FIG. 2).The middle section 18B includes cut-outs 42 for receiving columns 16 ofthe pallet 12 (FIG. 2). The lower platform 20 of the base 14 includes afirst end section 20A, a middle section 20B, and a second end section20C.

Each of the plurality of supports 22 includes support cut-outs 44 forreceiving forks of a fork truck on either side of the middle section 18Bof the upper platform 18. The base 14 may be constructed of wood, metal,plastic, fiberglass composites or any other suitably durable and rigidmaterials.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in use, individual sheets of drywall 24, areplaced upon the pallet assembly 10 to cool after production. The stackof sheets of drywall 24 rests deck 26 of the pallet 12 and the upperplatform 18 of the base 14. Openings 50 are disposed between the deck 26of the pallet 12 and the base 14 to receive forks of a fork truck. Whenthe sheets of drywall 24 are cool and sufficiently strong and stiff suchthat they no longer need the support of the base 14, the fork truckinserts the forks into the openings 50 and lifts up the stack of drywall24 and the pallet 12 for shipping. The stack of sheets of drywall 24 isshipped on the pallet 12 only. That is, the pallet 12 and the stack ofdrywall 24 are lifted off of the base 14 and the stack of drywall 24 isshipped on the pallet 12 while the base 14 remains at the manufacturer.Additional empty pallets 12 are subsequently placed upon the base 14 tocreate pallet assemblies 10 on which individual sheets of drywall 24 areplaced to cool after production. The base 14 remains at the manufacturerfor re-use.

The stack of drywall 24 and the pallet 12 can be stacked with other,similar pallets of stacks of drywall (not shown) and shipped to thestore. The drywall may be displayed and sold from the pallet 12 at thestore. The pallet 12 may be shipped back to the manufacturer for reuseafter the stack of drywall 24 is sold, or may be recycled.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the pallet assembly 10. A first end portion 64Aof the pallet 12 rests on the top surface 60 of the first end section18A of the upper platform 18. A middle portion 64B of the pallet 12rests on the top surface 60 of the middle section 18B of the upperplatform 18. A second end portion 64C of the pallet 12 rests on the topsurface 60 of the second end section 18C of the upper platform 18. Thetop surface 62 of the pallet 12 may be slightly raised in relation tothe top surface 60 of the upper platform 18. Alternatively, as discussedabove, the first end section 18A, the middle section 18B and the secondend section 18C may include recesses (not shown) located where the firstend portion 64A, middle portion 64B and the second end portion 64Crespectively overlap the top surface 60 of the upper platform 18. Inthis configuration, the top surface 62 of the pallet 12 would besubstantially flush with respect to the top surface 60 of the upperplatform 18.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described,it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe allpossible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in thespecification are words of description rather than limitation, and it isunderstood that various changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. There are many differentconfigurations for plastic pallets and many variations in design, manyof which would benefit from the present invention. For example, thepallet components are preferably formed of polypropylene via aninjection molding process, but of course can be formed of any type ofplastic applicable for the desired use. Further, the number andarrangement of supports 22 may vary according to the size of the palletassembly 10 and the intended application for the pallet assembly 10.

Although preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, aworker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certainmodifications would come within the scope of this invention. For thatreason, the following claims should be studied to determine the truescope and content of this invention.

1. A pallet assembly comprising: a base; and a pallet removably mountedon the base, wherein the pallet includes a deck and a plurality ofcolumns extending downward from the deck for engagement with the base.2. The pallet assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality ofcolumns are integrally molded with the deck.
 3. The pallet assembly asrecited in claim 1, wherein the base and pallet are different materials.4. The pallet assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of columns defines a first width proximate the deck and asecond width spaced apart from the deck, wherein the first width isgreater that the second width.
 5. The pallet assembly as recited inclaim 4, wherein a width associated with each of the plurality ofcolumns tapers from the first width to the second width, such that thepallet of one pallet assembly is nestable within the pallet of anotherpallet assembly.
 6. The pallet assembly as recited in claim 1, whereinthe base further includes: an upper platform; a lower platform; and aplurality of supports extending between the upper platform and the lowerplatform.
 7. The pallet assembly as recited in claim 6, wherein theupper platform includes a plurality of cut-outs for receiving theplurality of columns.
 8. The pallet assembly as recited in claim 6,wherein the lower platform includes a first end section, a middlesection, and a second end section.
 9. The pallet assembly as recited inclaim 6, wherein the plurality of supports includes support cut-outs fordefining fork-receiving openings between the supports and the deck. 10.The pallet assembly of claim 1, wherein the base includes an upperplatform that together with the deck forms a single support surface. 11.The pallet assembly as recited in claim 8, wherein the deck and theupper platform are substantially flush.
 12. The pallet assembly asrecited in claim 1, wherein the base includes a top surface withoutholes through which air can flow.
 13. The pallet assembly as recited inclaim 1, wherein the pallet includes a top surface formed without holesthrough which air can flow.
 14. The pallet assembly as recited in claim1, wherein each of the plurality of columns is formed without holesthrough which air can flow.
 15. A method of processing drywall includingthe steps of: a) placing a pallet in engagement with a base to form apallet assembly, the pallet including a deck that together with aplatform of the base forms a single support surface; b) stackingindividual sheets of drywall on the support surface to form a stack ofdrywall; and c) removing the pallet and the drywall stack as a singleunit from the base.
 16. The method of processing drywall as recited inclaim 12, wherein the individual sheets of drywall are stacked when theyare hot and flexible, and further including the step of: d) cooling thedrywall on the deck and the platform prior to said step c).
 17. Themethod of processing drywall as recited in claim 13, further includingthe steps of: e) placing another pallet in engagement with the baseafter said step c); and f) repeating steps b)-d).